


You Need To Relax

by Freedoms_Champion



Series: Gajeel's Girls [1]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Casual lovers, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Gajeel & Juvia BrOTP, Gajeel isn't good with emotions, Hair Washing, Phantom Lord Gajeel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:40:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26688298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freedoms_Champion/pseuds/Freedoms_Champion
Summary: On the way back from a job, Gajeel catches a familiar scent: the Fairy Tail girl some (very wrong) people might call his girlfriend. Conflicted and troubled, he follows his nose to her hoping that she can help him not feel as upset.Domestic fluff ensues and Gajeel discovers the wonders of hair care products.
Relationships: Gajeel Redfox/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Gajeel's Girls [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1942081
Kudos: 7





	You Need To Relax

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I've created this as a place to put random, largely unrelated stories about Gajeel/Levy/Sofie (my OC). Most of it will be fluff without much plot.
> 
> Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy, and have a fantastic day!

Gajeel was heading home when he caught her scent. Before he fully realized what he was smelling, he took the cross road toward the little town and walked several steps before he stopped himself. Master Jose would be furious if he found out Gajeel hadn’t headed straight back to report. It was his duty to go back.

Gajeel growled and resumed walking. That sabotage mission had left him feeling sick and if he went back now, he couldn’t be sure of his temper. Master Jose would punish him for mouthing off. Just one day was justifiable and it would be enough to help him settle down.

She would understand.

The scent wasn’t strong, but he could tell it was recent. If he had any luck, she would still be here, resting in the town before getting back to her own job or outing. It tickled the back of his throat with cold, though there was nothing minty in her scent. On a day when dust from the road clung to the sweat on his skin, he welcomed it.

It got stronger as he entered the town. Now he could smell the faint note of rain that always clung to her, as if glowering clouds surrounded her like they did Juvia. It was different, of course. She smelled like rain that came from a wild storm, freshly whipped into mist by the wind.

Outside the inn, he heard her voice. Nothing distinct, but it proved she was still here. Gajeel paused for a moment to pinpoint where her room was and made his way to the stairs.

It only took a moment for her to answer his knock. Rather than taking a moment to look at her, Gajeel dropped his bag and pulled her into a hug. Well, it was more like he slumped against her shoulder and buried his nose in her neck.

A gust of wind closed the door behind him, and she hugged him back.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you, Gajeel,” Sofie said. He had to bite back an undignified noise of pleasure as she slowly ran her nails up and down his spine, an unconscious habit she occasionally used on him. “You’re tense as hell. Is something wrong?”

After a long moment, Gajeel managed to raise his head. “I was passing through and caught your scent. I had to see you.” Words built up in his throat, but he couldn’t speak them. How could he explain his growing sickness over the ruthlessness of his Guildmaster? It wasn’t in his nature to question or complain.

How could he explain what he wanted from her if he didn’t know himself?

“That’s awfully nice of you,” Sofie replied and wrinkled her nose at him. “Out of the blue and a bit alarming, but nice all the same.” Since he hadn’t stepped back, her nails continued lightly scratching his back. He winced as a muscle cramped and twitched.

“You need to relax,” Sofie stated, characteristically switching from one subject to another. For reasons Gajeel hadn’t attempted to discover, her magic dictated her personality to a greater degree than most wizards. In fact, if he hadn’t known better, he might have thought she was a fellow Dragon Slayer. She wasn’t; just a wind wizard with a flighty thought process.

Gajeel hesitated. “Um, what do you have in mind?” he asked. As disturbed as he felt, sex might not be the best idea at the moment. He knew Sofie fairly well as a casual lover, but there were still so many blank spots to her. He didn’t want to lose what he had by hurting her accidentally.

“Relaxation, duh,” Sofie said and shrugged out of his arms. “Come this way,” she added in a goofy dramatic voice over her shoulder.

Bemused, Gajeel followed her to the bathroom connected to her suite. There, his eyes widened. It wasn’t often that he came across a bathtub he might fit in, but this one had a lot of potential. Just looking at it made the drying sweat on his skin start to itch. Sofie fiddled with the taps and started running water. She perched on the edge of the tub and shot him a coy glance under her lashes.

“Go on, take your clothes off.” She grinned when he hesitated again. “There’s no need to be shy, but if you insist, I’ll look away.” Her thick braid of red hair flipped from over her shoulder to down her back as she spun to face away.

Gajeel couldn’t help a short laugh. No one ever teased him, not even Juvia. He didn’t welcome it, but Sofie’s behavior was a refreshing change from people always being terrified of him. He pulled off his clothes and left them half-folded on the counter, oddly grateful that Sofie didn’t turn around until he had stepped into the water.

An involuntary sigh that was a half groan escaped him. The water was almost painfully hot, and it forced him to relax muscles he hadn’t realized were tense. To his surprise, the tub did nearly fit, allowing him to stretch out his legs and still have the water up to mid-chest.

For a long moment, the only sound was the water running until Sofie shut it off. Gajeel expected her to take off her clothes next, only in the vague way that he had any idea what was happening. Instead, she left the room. He could hear her searching her belongings for something and waited, confused beyond expression now.  
“I think we’ve just crossed a line,” Gajeel told Sofie when she came back to his side.

“Oh?” she asked, more focused on setting a line of ceramic pots on the rim of the tub than on the conversation.

Gajeel wasn’t sure he had the right words, but he carried on anyway.

“Whatever is between us, it’s casual. We meet up every few months, enjoy being around each other. What we’re doing right now is different.” He hesitated and bit his lip. Ordinarily, he didn’t talk about feelings, but right now he felt vulnerable without resenting it. “This isn’t casual. I’m scared it’s going to change what’s between us, and change is always bad for me.”

Sofie studied him with an unusually serious look in her grey eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t know enough about people to know where the line is, I guess. Between us, it’s natural for me and I never expected something like that. All I’m asking is that you trust me for a little while.”

“It does feel natural, but Sofie… I can’t be any more for you than I am right now. If Jose found out I had anything to do with a Fairy Tail wizard, he’d skin me alive. Your guild would probably have a panic attack.”

Sofie rolled her eyes, all seriousness forgotten, and splashed him. “I’m not asking you to leave your guild and move in with me! Just let me help you relax for an hour. You know, I’m not sure you know what casual means.”

Gajeel had to laugh along with her and decided complicated feelings could wait.

“Fine, do whatever you want.”

“Thank you very much,” she retorted pertly. “Lean your head back for a minute.”

Gajeel leaned forward and obeyed, struggling not to make yet another happy sound as she poured water over his head. The feeling of it slowly soaking through his thick hair and reaching his scalp tickled and soothed at the same time.

A sigh did escape him when Sofie poured something gooey on his head and started working it into his scalp. Her short nails scraped his skin in small, expanding circles, leaving tingles behind. He could hear bubbles fizzing as she worked down to the tips of his hair.

“Up,” she said, tapping a finger under his chin. Gajeel tilted his head back again and more water cascaded down his back, washing the bubbles away. They floated on the surface around his ribs, adding soapy swirls to the alarming sheen of dirt in the water. Still, Gajeel was grateful for the bubbles, which served to hide how the attention was getting to him.

“What is that stuff?” he asked, watching Sofie spread another kind of gooey stuff along her palms. She frowned at him.

“Don’t you recognize shampoo and conditioner? Maybe it’s not manly and aggressive smelling, but the general idea is the same.” Again, the teasing smile hovered on her face, blunting what might have been rude words.

Gajeel shook his head, fighting to keep a grip on his thoughts as she went back to massaging the stuff into his scalp.

“No wonder your hair is like wires. There’s this guy in my guild who would choke and die if he knew about this. Shampoo cleans dust and oils out of your hair and conditioner adds good oils so that it’s smooth and flexible. Have you just been running water over your head and nothing else?”

“Pretty much,” Gajeel answered. “I grew up in the mountains with a dragon, you know. You’re lucky I bathe.”

Privately, he made a note to have Juvia help him find some of this stuff for himself. His scalp felt lighter and a nice fruity scent wafted from his head. He might have to get something that wasn’t as strong, though, or it would mess up his nose.

“I do appreciate that,” Sofie agreed, scooping more conditioner out of the jar and working it into the tips of his hair. “There’s another thing I’ll introduce you to: soap! All that dust you’re carrying around would make a nice garden.”

“I know about soap! Sheesh, you act like I’m utterly uncivilized.”

“Well, I’ve seen you eat, haven’t I?” she said, but he could hear the smile in her words.

After rinsing his hair out again, Sofie left him to finish washing up. Gajeel didn’t mind that. To his surprise, he really did feel relaxed. All the conflicting, angry feelings he’d been pushing down had settled into something more manageable. For the first time since he could easily remember, he felt almost safe and happy.

He drained the water and dried himself, marveling at how easy it was to untangle his hair by finger combing. Girls really were onto something if that was what their hair was like all the time!

He came out with a towel wrapped around his waist and found Sofie sitting on the edge of her bed. Mysteriously, most of her outer clothing was gone and she was unbraiding her long red hair.

She’d had good ideas so far, so Gajeel took the hint.


End file.
